the Smashwords End of Year Sale!
Runs from Dec 15th, 2022, through Jan 1, 2023
Fiction
My Top Three Favorite Messed-up Love Stories
Valentine’s Day honors LOVE with chocolates, flowers, and romance. Most of us celebrate in some way, whether it’s dinner with our honey, chocolate hearts for the kiddoes, or fluffy toys for the fur babies. Romance month is big business. Consumers have countless venues for indulging their sentimental side in February.
What about those of us who avoid the typical easy path to a happy ending? Hallmark movies just won’t do for us! We want tragedy, sweet suffering, and – dare I say – an unhappy ending sometimes. Here are my top three favorite tragic love stories with their film companions. Note: The book is always better than the movie!
My Top Three Messed-up Love Stories
Cyrano de Bergerac by Emond Rostand
Brave soldier and romantic poet Cyrano has fallen in love with his beautiful cousin, Roxanne. Cyrano, a confident soldier with a keen wit, fears his large nose will stand in the way of his love for her. He remains too shy to express his feelings. Then the worst happens. Roxanne and Cyrano’s friend, the handsome Christian, fall in love with each other. Cyrano, standing aside for friendship, uses his own words to woo Roxanne on Christian’s behalf.
This story is a must-watch/read for anyone who has stepped aside for friendship’s sake.
Upcoming Film Cyrano starring Peter Dinklage (Releases February 25, 2022)
Death On the Nile by Agatha Christie
The original “Fatal Attraction” story. Boy meets girl. Boy dumps girl for her beautiful rich friend. Girl stalks boy and his new wife like a crazy person. Somebody ends up murdered. What I like best about this story is Hercule Poirot’s compassion for the crazy stalker. Having lost his own love when young, he tries to help her let go.
This story is a must-watch/read for Agatha Christie fans. I can’t wait to see Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot again.
Upcoming Film Death On the Nile starring Kenneth Branagh and Gal Gadot (Releases February 2022)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Following Jane Eyre through her life struggles could cover so many topics. People see her as plain and ordinary, including her abusive aunt. She goes through sickness, poverty, and heartbreak. Yeah. You guessed it. The story is a real tearjerker. We finally think Jane finds her place at last when she goes to work for Edward Rochester. They fall in love, but Edward has a secret that destroys their happiness.
Classic version: Jane Eyre starring Orson Welles (Released 1943) * I realize there are newer film versions but watching Orson Welles as Edward Rochester is epic!
Try something different this Valentine’s Day. Go for the messed-up book or movie. But, don’t forget the chocolate and tissues.
Commemorating the Santa Fe Trail 200th Anniversary
Most folks living in North America learned about the Santa Fe Trail as children in school. Opened as a commercial route in 1821 by William Becknell and his party, the Santa Fe Trail grew to become a critical trading lifeline between Missouri and New Mexico. Our memories conjure images of pioneers riding across open country in covered wagons. Hollywood’s version of history also influences our perception of life on the trail. But it is the real experiences of travelers who dared journey on the Santa Fe Trail that I find the most fascinating.
Living in the Rocky Mountain West most of my life, I assumed I had a good understanding of the Santa Fe Trail and its history. I’d driven the byways in Southern Colorado and New Mexico often enough. However, while researching my upcoming historical fantasy novel, THE VENGEFUL DEAD, I came to understand how little I knew of what life was really like for the pioneers and traders.
Over the next few months leading up to the release of my book in 2022, I’ll be sharing interesting facts about the Santa Fe Trail and other locations from the setting of THE VENGEFUL DEAD.
If you’d like to learn more about the Santa Fe Trail and its 200th Anniversary (1821 to 2021), please visit https:/santafetrail200.org
Book Love 2020
Book Love – © zaie – Stock.adobe.com
It’s the season of love. Wine, chocolates, flowers, and those little candy hearts. Feel the romance.
Meh. I prefer a deeper passion that’s pure and true. Book Love, of course!
Here are a few of my FAV recent reads.
Non-Fiction: Good Juju: Mojos, Rites & Practices for the Magical Soul by Najah Lightfoot
Mystery: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans and Endless Night by Agatha Christie
Spooky Love: Inside by D.M. Siciliano and The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates
What about you? Are there books you’ve read recently that you love? Please share in the comments.
The Spooky Movie You Forgot You Loved
Start The Spooky Season With An Old Favorite! © Drobot Dean – stock.adobe.com
Happy Spooky Season! I know I’m a few days early, but I am too excited to wait! This October is going to be a fun one. Creed of the Guardian – Book Three in the Heart of the Warrior series – comes out October 18th. I’ll have details on tours and giveaways soon.
Let’s kick off the season with a blast from the past to get you in the Halloween Spirit!
The Frighteners – directed by Peter Jackson and starring Michael J. Fox – is a satisfying mix of paranormal haunts, suspenseful plot twists, and comedy. Fox plays Frank Bannister, conman and paranormal investigator. Frank finds himself up against a supernatural serial killer preying on unlikely victims around his home town.
First released in 1995, this movie came out at the height of Michael J. Fox’s popularity. His acting is heartfelt and real. The entire cast brings their best performances in this entertaining paranormal adventure. It is Jackson’s ground-breaking special effects that propel this movie over the top. According to Jackson, they developed software and techniques in The Frighteners that made it possible for him to film The Lord of the Rings.
Make sure to put this spooky fun film on your Halloween Playlist. I highly recommend the Director’s Cut released as part of the 15th Anniversary Edition Blue-ray.
Be Positive. Be Happy. Be Well. And Have a Spook-tacular Spooky Season!
Pre-Order Your Copy Today!
Book Baby Announcement
I finally have a firm release date!
Look for the latest book in the Heart of the Warrior series
October 18th, 2019!
Book Three – COMING October 18th, 2019
Protect the Innocent. Punish the Guilty.
Seth the Ice Lion, now an Apprentice in the Jalora Legion, reluctantly travels aboard ship with his new battalion. Western Beta’s mission seems a dull assignment. Guarding miles of bogs and old ruins should be a simple task, but Seth soon learns nothing is easy for the Bearer of the Lion Ring. The Jalora is the embodiment of Good and the source of Seth’s power. It commands he search North Marsh for a relic capable of saving his homeland from the ravenous appetite of the Jackal invaders. Surrounded by deadly bogs and savage beasts, he must find the relic before the Lion Spirit inside of him takes control of their shared body.
Invaders from across the sea hold a firm grip on Valdeon, but their thirst for blood remains unsated. They lust for the riches of Andara. Using fear and greed as weapons, the Jackal enlist aid from the continent’s unscrupulous mercenaries to prepare for a larger invasion. They build a stronghold – Stone Fang Fortress – in the Blood Mountains of the north. It is here they prepare to conquer the free world.
Will Seth find this powerful relic before the Jackal swarm invades Andara? Or will his people be enslaved under the iron fist of the Jackal Lord? Seth’s answers hide in the deadly bogs of North Marsh…
Read the Dark Fantasy Epic from the beginning
Book One of The Heart of The Warrior Series
Book Two – Heart of the Warrior series
Live and Let Read
© Malchev – Stock.Adobe.Com
I’m wrapping up the “February Is for Book Lovers” blog series with a sub-genre of Mystery Thrillers. So, order your martini – shaken not stirred– and join me in a good Spy Novel discussion.
Wait. This Was a Book Before It Was a Movie?
Goldfinger and many others by Ian Fleming
The Guns of Navarone by Alastair MacLean
Eye of The Needle by Ken Follett
The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
Super Badass Spies
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum (Matt Damon aka Jason Bourne)
Killing Floor and series by Lee Child (Jack Reacher)
James Bond series by Ian Fleming (Because you can’t have a Super Badass Spy section without him)
Classic Spies
Yes. James Bond again. Seriously, I could do an entire post just about this character and his author
The Ministry of Fear and Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
The Day of the Jackal by Fredrick Forsyth
Other Impressive Super Spies
Hunt for Red October and series by Tom Clancy (Jack Ryan)
Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva
I hadn’t really explored this Book Genre until a few years ago. Please let me know if you have suggestions for Spy novels. I’d love to read more!
Covert Ops Links
15 Classic Spy Novels by Penguin Books
Be Positive. Be Happy. Be Well.
Chillers, Thrillers and Beasties
© Romolo Tavani @ Stock.Adobe.Com
Darkness shrouds the night about me. I clutch at the blankets and burrow deeper into their fleeting comfort. Then a scratch at the door pierces the stillness. Thrusting a hand out, I grasp desperately for my sleeping protector. What is prowling just outside the door? Is it a fanged monster perhaps or some troubled poltergeist?
Setting my Horror novel aside, I discover kitty playing with a discarded rubber band. The heart stopping tension stays with me, however, as I crawl back in bed. Why do I read scary stories before bed time or at all? Heart pounding, shiver inducing tales of horror have been told around campfires of centuries. We humans love the thrill of being scared. Here are a few of my favorites:
Classic Horror Tales
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Modern Horror Favorites
- The Stand by Stephen King (So many others!)
- Relic,The Cabinet of Curiosities and other Agent Pendergast novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
- Just about any story by Dean Koontz
- True Blood series by Charlene Harris
- The Narrows by Ronald Malfi
- Bird Box (the book not the movie) by Josh Malerman
- The Woman by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee
Have I missed one of your favorites? Please share in the comments. I’d love to add a good book to my reading list.
Chilling Links
Horror Writers Association(Proud to be a member)
Be Positive. Be Happy. Be Well.
The Benefits of an Active Shelf Life
I’m a reader. Not just a reader. I’m a “must read the list of suggested books from my local library or online resource” type reader. Don’t try to limit me to only one genre. I’m interested in everything from books about local history to ghost stories to modern thrillers to classic tales. I will, on occasion, explore the works of foreign authors from diverse backgrounds. Why do I read everything I can get my little mittens on? I’m a reader, because I’m a learner.
The Benefits of Being a Reader:
© Konstantin Yuganov – Stock.Adobe.Com
- Reading is exercise for the mind – Your brain needs fresh knowledge to grow. Don’t stop learning just because you become an “adult.” Growth is essential for everyone regardless of age.
- A well-read brain is a healthy brain, especially as we age – Staying active is important for a healthy body. Your brain ages too. Learning new things can help keep your mind sharp.
- Reading promotes imagination – Movies, TV and video games are entertaining, but someone else is doing the imagining for you. Reading a book offers plots and descriptions of the author’s story scenes, but it’s your imagination building the world as you see it. You take away inspiration, encouragement and knowledge gleaned from what you’ve seen in your mind’s eye.
Read Often. Learn as Much as Possible. Share Your Knowledge.
© vectorfusionart – Stock.Adobe.Com
Be Positive. Be Happy. Be Well
What Tales of Terror Are on Your Book Shelf?
The Spooky Season is upon us! It’s time for warm cider, pumpkin cookies and scary stories. Whether you indulge your ravenous appetite for ghosts and ghouls on the screen or in hard copy print, nothing is better than being captured in the pages of a book.
Looking for some “scare the pants right off you” ideas? Here are a few great places to check for suggested reading:
© Sergey Nivens – Stock.Adobe.Com
Goodreads Lists– Here you can find a list of reader favorites for every genre. Try Horror and Paranormal in October for perfect Spooky Season suggestions.
Horror Writers Association– Why not look to the experts at Horror.org? As a member of HWA, I’ve had the opportunity to meet several of these gifted authors. You may recognize some of the Bram Stoker Award Winners on their website.
Grab a book or better yet, let a book grab you!
Be Positive. Be Happy. Be Well.
Deep Thoughts and Junk 